I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

Episode 300.

The very episode where 『The Path of the Demon King』 was dropped.

I tried to think of it differently, but no matter how I looked at it, it was clearly connected to the series being discontinued.

Suddenly, I remembered the author’s message I saw before falling.

“Thank you for reading until now! I know it’s shameless, but please continue the story!”

Was possessing Valheit supposed to be the author’s way of telling me to rewrite the story?

I knew how absurd that sounded, but considering I was already inside the novel, that hardly mattered anymore.

I tapped on the “View Details” button.

The scroll grew slightly longer, and its content was simple yet grave.

[Timer]

300 episodes until world destruction.

Cause: Death of Valheit

Current probability of Valheit’s death: 100%

“So, the reason the world is scheduled for destruction is because Valheit dies?”

A strange theory came to mind.

What if the abrupt discontinuation of the story wasn’t simply because the author gave up, but was actually inevitable?

What if, because Valheit died, it became impossible to prevent destruction—or the series being dropped—no matter what happened afterward?

“…No, honestly, that’s just an excuse.”

There’s no way there were elements in the story that the author couldn’t change.

If it came to that, they could’ve just gone off the rails and forced a happy ending.

Still, the more I chewed on the issue of Valheit’s death, the heavier the word “100%” felt.

If things stayed as they were, the future where Valheit died—just as in the story—would unfold exactly the same way.

‘Well, to be fair… he’s a character who was bound to die.’

Valheit wasn’t just the protagonist’s enemy—he was disliked even within the Eight Council.

It wasn’t like he lacked ability.

Most of the plans Valheit devised had succeeded.

‘The problem is that he succeeded by stabbing people in the back.’

He’d betray allies when necessary, abandon those who trusted him, join hands with former enemies, and use innocent people as shields. It was damned hard to trust and follow a narrow-eyed guy like that.

Even so, the reason he held on to his No. 2 position was because the state of the Eight Council was that bad.

The leader who founded the Eight Council had gone missing, the “prestigious” members were constantly at odds, the cohesion was like grains of sand, and the lack of new manpower left the organization gasping. It was a mess.

Valheit took advantage of the situation for his own benefit, which made him even more hated.

In the end, when he faced off against the protagonist, there wasn’t a single person who came to his aid.

Valheit himself didn’t seem to care up to the moment he died… but I had no intention of dying alone like that.

“Lord Valheit, it’s Ron.”

As I was pondering, Ron politely knocked on the door.

“What is i… what’s the matter?”

“Lady Til Chartra has requested an audience. She says it’s for the regular report.”

“Til?”

Til Chartra.

One of the Eight Council members—a versatile agent who could do anything from assassination, kidnapping, investigation, escort, frontal assault, even duels.

She was basically the author’s Swiss Army knife for whenever the plot got stuck.

If I met her carelessly and she realized something had changed, it would be a headache.

If I was lucky, my head would be chopped off on the spot, and if I was unlucky, all the enemies Valheit had made would come chasing after me.

“She also said that if you don’t come out of the study today, she’ll break the door down and meet you personally.”

“…Understood. I’ll go right away.”

Come to think of it, this was also an opportunity.

What I needed most right now was information.

And there was no better source than Til, who unlike the other members, wasn’t bound to a fixed region.

As for hiding my identity—if I just acted like Valheit, I should be able to manage.

As a 『The Path of the Demon King』 geek, I had confidence in that much.

Though… I was a little scared.

Just a little.

***

The reception room with large windows facing the lake had a strange atmosphere.

Outside the window, a calm lake shimmered and lush trees sparkled in the sunset.

In contrast, there wasn’t a shred of vitality inside.

The dark wooden floor looked gloomy even bathed in sunset light, and the mounted trophies on the walls had lost all semblance of life they might’ve once had.

No matter how I looked at it, this place was completely unsuited for welcoming guests—and yet it was the Eight Council’s official reception room.

“Good day, Til.”

“Not really a good day when someone’s been holed up in their study all day.”

A white-haired woman sharply replied to my greeting.

She looked more refined than I’d imagined.

Her temperament, though, was exactly as I expected.

“Did you get hurt? You’re moving all stiff.”

Yeah, even I thought my movements were awkward.

I tried to act as naturally as possible, but this was the result.

I waved my hand, and Til didn’t probe any deeper.

“Let’s just get this boring regular report over with quickly.”

Til began reading the report with little enthusiasm.

I didn’t know who wrote it, but the content was thorough.

It was a bit dull because of the excessive detail, but as far as reports go, this was excellent.

“That concludes the regular report. Any questions?”

Just from the report content, I was able to roughly figure out the current situation and timeline.

Ron had given me a vague idea earlier, but now I was sure.

Still, ending it like this felt lacking, so I decided to ask a question.

“Any trouble with the Northern Federation?”

That’s where the first episode of 『The Path of the Demon King』 begins, so I wanted to dig a little deeper.

But Til’s reaction was odd.

“…? What’s with you suddenly asking a question?”

“It’s not strange, is it?”

“No, no. I’ve never seen you ask a single question in any regular report since I started giving them.”

Damn. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

Regret rushed in, but it was too late now.

“I just heard an interesting rumor recently.”

“Oh? And where’d you hear that?”

Til scanned me up and down with a suspicious look.

One innocent question and I nearly blew my cover.

Fortunately, Til didn’t press any further and answered indifferently.

Though her eyes still seemed a bit unsettled.

“There is something. Cesare decided to sell a mine to those bandit barons.”

That was something I remembered well.

The first episode of the novel begins at one of the mines sold by Cesare, the Eight Council member in charge of the Northern Federation.

It was never clearly stated in the story exactly when the mine was sold, but there was mention that it had been at least half a year.

Meaning, I had at least six months before my execution countdown began.

“Is he short on money?”

“No. Do you know how much that guy earns? Think of it as a carrot to the bandit barons. If they stay on his good side, they can make even more money—that sort of thing.”

It matched what I knew.

For now, I could assume that the story hadn’t been altered or distorted.

“But why the sudden interest in the Northern Federation? You always called it a backwater and ignored it.”

“Well, who knows? Something interesting might happen in the boonies.”

“Trying to scam someone again, huh? Last time you bled the Emperor of the Eslick Empire dry.”

I answered her sharp sarcasm with a smile. I didn’t really have anything else to say, but I figured I’d mimic Valheit’s signature smirk from the novel.

“…Well, I guess you’re not completely disinterested in the Eight Council after all.”

“Of course not. It is my Eight Council, after all.”

Crunch!

No sooner had I finished speaking than something grazed past my ear.

When I turned my head slightly, I saw a hand axe embedded in the chair.

“Hmph. Not even flinching at that? So like you.”

Well, more like I didn’t even have time to react.

“It’s not your Eight Council, it’s his. Don’t forget that you’re just a proxy.”

Til, having retrieved her axe, growled low.

At least, that’s how it felt to me.

“It was a joke. As if I could ever forget that.”

“Fine then. I’m leaving.”

Only after I saw Til exit the reception room did I slump down in the chair.

Thought I was gonna die.

Who the hell starts a conversation by throwing an axe?

As I was still clutching my chest in relief, a scroll popped up beside me.

[Relationships]

▶ Til Chartra (-75 / Improving!)

(+) Valheit finally shows interest in Eight Council affairs!

(-) Referred to the Eight Council as his own!

It was the “Relationships” section I had skipped over before.

A quick glance was enough to understand its function.

It was the reputation system you often saw in online games.

I usually skipped reputation grinds because they were tedious, but I couldn’t afford to this time.

My eyes were drawn to the note in the corner.

[Note] Whenever there’s a major change in a relationship, you’ll receive a special skill for free!

Major change?

Not sure what exactly that meant, but if it came with free rewards, I had no complaints.

I was about to examine it further when a deep voice called out.

“Lord Valheit.”

Damn it.

Ron had quietly approached and was now standing respectfully by my side.

I immediately corrected my posture.

Even if he was a character who showed absolute loyalty, I didn’t want to give him any reason to doubt me by looking too relaxed.

“I’ve organized the documents in the study. Today, you only need to process 113 cases.”

“…What?”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Ron disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared.

Wait a sec. How many did he say?

***

By the time I finished reviewing the documents, it was the middle of the night.

Most of them were routine and I just stamped them and moved on, but a few caught my attention—things only a hardcore fan of 『The Path of the Demon King』 would recognize as problems.

For example, the expansion project of the Raven, an espionage unit of the Grand Duchy of Leitche.

It was run by a duke who was also an Eight Council member, so it seemed related, but technically it was a separate entity belonging to the Grand Duchy.

The story later mentioned how money embezzled by the Raven caused disruptions in Eight Council operations.

Naturally, I rejected it.

I also sent back other projects that were later revealed to be a waste of funds, citing whatever small flaws I could find.

The treasury wasn’t exactly overflowing, so plugging leaks came first.

Once I finally finished, I stepped out onto the balcony in relief.

Instinctively, my hand went to my pocket, but then I realized something was missing.

“…Tch. No cigarettes.”

Should I use the leftover money from the rejections today to buy some?

No, wait—Valheit didn’t smoke. That meant I had to quit too.

I almost blew my cover today as it was.

Just remembering the axe that had lodged next to me sent a chill down my spine.

I got lucky today, but there was no guarantee that would happen again.

‘I need to be at least strong enough to protect myself…’

I opened the status window and navigated to the Skills page.

Under the tree-branch-like structure of spells, the familiar phrases from the Abilities page were neatly organized.

[Skills]

▶ No mana restriction thanks to the “Snake creeping in the shadows” ability!

▶ Maximum proficiency and versatility in all magic thanks to the “Origin of magic” ability!

▶ Due to the “Bound by contract” ability, currently only 9th-tier spells are available!

▷ Earn Skill Points to unlock higher-tier spells!

Below that, a clean list of available spells was displayed.

“…The restrictions are no joke.”

9th-tier spells were basically “everyday convenience” level—barely more than basic tricks.

For demons closely attuned to magic, they could master them in childhood, and even humans—despite being less magical—could use them with enough effort.

‘In that case, I should prioritize unlocking skills through relationships…’

Since I didn’t know how to earn Skill Points yet, that was my only realistic option.

“Huh? Why is there an exclamation mark now?”

The “Destruction Timer” at the bottom had suddenly gotten an exclamation mark next to it.

[Timer]

300 episodes until world destruction.

Cause: Death of Valheit ▶ Valheit death probability: 99.3%

(+) Relationship with Til Chartra improved!

(+) Entered the 90% death probability range!

▷ You have been awarded 1 Skill Point.

The contents seemed connected to what happened today… or maybe not.

The thing that stood out the most was, of course, that death probability had entered the 90% range.

It was just a 0.7% drop, but still—a drop was a drop.

And I got a Skill Point as a bonus.

I didn’t know how often I’d be able to get Skill Points, so I had to use this one carefully.

As I stared at the tree-branch structure of the skill window, I let out a whistle.

“Let’s go with this one.”

After staring at it for dozens of minutes, I confidently chose one.